Art of racking beer.



Patented July 3l. |900. l

2 Shank-Sheet I.

H. W. COLBY.

ART 0F AlAKlN BEER. (Anuman me@ .um is, 1909.)

(No Modelf) No. 654,7l4. Patented July'sl; |900.

H. w. coLBv. r

ART 0F RACKING BEER.

(Application led Inn. 15, 1900.) (N0 MdeL) v2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

FIEII.

[N VEN TOR A TTORNE YJ.

TH: nomme PETERS ca. PHoTo- LI-mo.. wsnmmou, o, c

PATENT Frio.

HARRY W. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AUTOMATIC RACKING MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

`ART oF RcKiNG BEER.

siancrrrcn'rron forming 15am-.ef Letterssratent No. 654,714, dated July e1, 1900.

riginal application led March 15, 1899, Serial No, 709,225." Divided and tlu's application iiled January 15, 1900. Serial No.

1,412. (Nomodel.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY W. COLBY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented anewand usefullmprovement in the Art of Racking Beer or other Gas- Charged Liquids Under Pressure from Tanks into Barrels or Packages, of which the followingqis a specification. Y y .V Io This application `is a division of my pend;- ing application, Serial No. 709,225,filed March i5, 1899, on apparatus for racking beer.

The method, process, or improvementin the art of racking beer or other gas-charged liqr 5 nids under pressure from a `closed tank into a barrel or package forming thesubject of this application consists, essentially, in first sealing the barrel or package which is to be iilled and forming an air or gas communicazo tion between the sealed barrel or package and the closed tank and establishing an equilibrium of air or gas pressure in the tank and barrel or package to be filled by causing air or gas to flow from the upper portion of the closed tank into the sealed barrel or package and then maintaining such equilibrium of pressure in the two while the liquid flows by gravity from the tank at a higher level into the barrel or package placed at a lower level 3o by causing the air or gas displaced from the barrel or package by the entering liquid to ilow back into the closed tank through an air-outlet pipe or communication between the tank and the barrel or package being filled, 3 5 which remarkable process or method of operation I have discovered may'be practicably performed by reason of myv discovery that after an equilibrium of pressure is rst es-l tablished between the tank above and the 4o barrel to be filled below the force of Vthe de scending column of liquid in the filling-tube will force the liquid, which risesuin the air-A outlet tube to the level of 4the liquid in the tank when one package becomes full, t0 the still higher level at which the air-outlet pipe or communication enters the tank, so that said air-outlet pipe or communication between the tank above andthe barrel below will not, in fact,in practice be closed by reason of the tendency of the liquid to rise therein to the level 5o of the liquid in the tank when the barrel or package becomes full. By this method or process I am enabled to rapidly and cheaply rack or draw beer or other gas-charged liquids from closed tanks into barrels or packages without causing any foaming and consequent .loss or deterioration in quality. The air or gas outlet pipe through which the air or gas iiows back from the sealed barrel or package into the closed tank and by which the pres- 6o sure in the two is maintained uniform or at an equilibrium is bent or inclined at the por tion thereof within the tank and provided with perforations or openings on its upper side, so that the liquid, which at the beginningof the filling operation iills this air-outletA pipe to the level of the liquid in the tank, may flow gently back into the body of the liquid inthe tank, while the air or gas which may-be mixed therewith may escape into the 7o upper portion of the tank, and thus prevent any agitation of the liquid in the tank and consequent foaming.

p My invention will be more` clearly understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure I representsv a side elevation of an apparatus suitable for use in practicing my invention, and Fig. II an enlarged detail ver- 8o tical section. A Y

I will now describe my invention more in detail in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In said drawings, 2 represents a closed tank 8 5 containing beer or other gas-charged liquid under pressure.

3 represents the barrel or package in which the beer or gas-charged liquid under pressure is to be racked or drawn. The barrel or pack` 9o age 3 issupported on a suitable barrel-support 34 at a suiiicient distance below the tank 2 to cause the liquid to iiow by its'own gravity from the tank above into the barrel below when and while an equilibrium of air pr gas pressure is establishedr and maintained between the two vessels.

5 is a filling-tube having a valve 6 at its lower end and which is adapted to be inserted into the barrel through the bung or opening thereof, so that the open end of the fillingtube will come near the lower portion of the barrel.,

' 7 is avsealing head or sleeve surrounding l the filling-'tube and adapted to seal the bar'- -between the barrel or package before theliq uid begins to flow from theclosed .tank into the sealed barrel or package through the llvingrtufbe 5 and the iilling-pipe 10, which leads from-the lower portion of the tank to and connects Vwith the filling-tube 5.

l 11 is an air or gas outlet pipe or tube counected at its lower end with th eair-inlet pipe 8 and leading to the upper portion of the tank. This air-outlet pipe ll has an inclined or f curved portion 12 extending into the tank 2, so that the liquid which rises or'may yrise in the air-outletI pipe 11 to the level of the liquid "in thetank 2 when the barrel or package 3 be- 'ponies full and which at the beginning of the filling-'of ythe next barrel is forced back into V'the t'ank'2 along with the 'air displaced from the barrel3 by the entering liquid may gently flow vback into the mass of liquid 4intothe tank without occasioning anyjet or spray, and thus cause foamingof the gas-charged` liquid in the tank. To permit the air to esf f cape into the upper portion of the tank and separate itself from the liquid which is being returned from the pipe 11 into the tank, I provide the inclined or curved pipe 12 within the tank with openings or perforations 13 o n its upper side, through which the liquid flows down along the inclined pipe int-o the liquidy in the tank 2. l With theabove brief description of the apparatus illustrated in the drawings and which I prefer to use in practicing my invention the several steps constituting my method or process may now be clearly described, so that it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

The barrel or package 3 is first sealed by forcing the hollow sealing head or sleeve 7 down upon the barrel around the bung thereof. A communication is thus formed betweenthe sealed barrel 3 and the closed tank 2 by opens .ing the air-valveV 9 in the air-inlet pipe 8,

which connects the sealing head or sleeve with the upper portion of the tank 2. An

equilibrium ofair or gas pressure is next es-` tablished between thev tank 2 and the barrel 3 by air or gas under pressure owing from the upper portion of the tank into ther barrel through the air-inlet pipe or communication 8.

The filling-tube 5 being now insertedin the barrel, sothat its lower end extends near the bottom thereof, its valve 6 is open and the liquid flows by gravity from the closed tank 2 above into the sealed barrel 3 below, owing to thedifferent heights or levels at which the .two vessels are placed, andA during this step or operation the equilibrium .of Kpressure pre- 'viously'established'between the tank and barrel is maintained by conducting the air which Vis displaced from the barrel by the entering liquid back into the closed tank 2 through the air-outlet pipe ll, and at the beginning the air-outlet pipe l1 from the check-valve 1.4 .tothelevel of, the liquid in the tank.2 is caused to flow back into the tank through said pipe l1 by the. force of the descending column of liquid in the filling-,tube 5. I have discovered and demonstrated by practical use that the liquid in the air-outlet vpipe 11 at the beginning of the flow of the liquid from the tank into the barrel may thus beforced to the top of the tank 2 and to a height of several 'feet above the level of the liquid in saidtank. At the beginning of the flow ofthe liquid into the barrel through the'illing-tube the air and lliquid which are being forced. back into the tank 2 through the pipe 1-1 separate fromeach other in the pipe 12 within-the tank 2, the air or gas escaping through -the holes or perforations 13, while the liquid .iows gently down the inclined pipe and enters the liquid in the tank without agit-atingthe same. After the barrel becomes full of liquid the flow ofthe Vliquid from the tank into the .barrelautomatically ceases when itfreaches its own level in the pipe 11, as there is an equilibrium of pressure. .The valve (lof the illing-tube 5 is thenclosedand the filling-tube withdrawn, and as the llingftube is-withdrawn the liquid which has risen in the gage 15 iows vback into the barrel and fills the space left by the withdrawal .of the llingtube, thus leaving the barrel completely full. The sealing-head is then withdrawn from the barrel, and the frame 4, Acarrying it, is Aswung to one' side, as ,indicated bythe dotted nlines in Fig, I, it being held in this position by the counterbalance 16, and then the bungfplug isquokly driven into .the barrel.. V

L For a vmorewfull or detailed .description of tho opparotusllustrabod in the aooonlpanyf ing drawings referpenceqis here I nadeto the patent ,to be granted upon my'said pending application, senat No. 709,225', fneqjiuareh consisting in first sealing the barrel or pack-` ago around its bung-opening andformng an oil' oommunoation between 4Said barrel or package and said closed tank throughA -the sealed bungfopening of said barrel or package, then establishing an equilibrium of pressure IOO IOS

IIO

between said tank and barrel or package by permitting air or gas to now from the upper portion of the closed tank into the sealed barrel or package through its sealed bung-opening, and then causing the liquid to iiow by gravity from the tank above and be discharged into the lower part of the barrel below through a connecting-pipe and a iilling-tube extending through said sealed bung-openin g to the lower part of the barrel or package, and maintaining the equilibrium of pressure in the tank and barrel or package while the liquid flows by gravity from the tank into the barrel by causing the air or gas displaced from the barrel by the entering liquid to liow back into the closed tank, substantially as specified.

2. The improvement in the art ofV racking 'beer or other liquids under pressure from a closed tank into a barrel or package, consisting in Iirst sealing the barrel or package and formingan air communication between said barrel or package and said closed tank,then establishing an equilibrium of pressure between said tank and barrel or package by permitting air or gas to flow from the upper portion of the closed tank into the sealed barrel or package, and then causing the liquid i'o flow by gravity from the tank above into the barrel below through a connecting filling-tube and pipe, and maintaining the equilibrium of the pressure in the tank and barrel or package while the liquid flows by gravity from the tank into the barrel by causing the air or gas displaced from the barrel by the entering liquid to iiow back into the closed tank through a connecting air-outlet pipe leading into the upper' portion of the tank, the liquid standing in the'air-outlet pipe at lche beginning of the liquid flow into the barrel being caused to enter the tank above the level of the liquid therein by the force of the descending column of the liquid entering the barrel by the filling-tube, substantially as specified.

3. The improvement in the art of racking beer or otherliquids under pressure from a -closed tank into a barrel or package, consisting in rst sealing the barrel or package and forming an air communication between said barrel or package and said closed tank, then establishing an equilibrium of pressure between said tank and barrel or package by permitting air or gas to flow from the upper portion of the closed tank into the sealed barrel or package, and then causing the liquid to flow by gravity from the tank above into the barrel below through a connecting fillingtube and pipe, and maintaining the equilibrum of the pressure in the tank and barrel or package while the liquid flowsby gravity from the tank into the barrel by causing the air or gas displaced from the barrel by the entering liquid to flow back into the closed tank through a connecting air-outlet pipe leading into the upper'portion of the tank, the liquid standing in the air-outlet pipeat the beginning of the liquid iiow into the barrel being caused to enter the tank above the level of the liquid therein by the force of the descending column of the liquid entering the barrel by the filling-tube and separating the air, which enters with the liquid that is thus returned into the tank, from said liquid at the upper portion of the tank and before said liquid enters the mass of liquid in the tank, substantially as specified.

HARRY W. COLBY.,

Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, EDMUND ADcocK. 

